Team BRIT GT4 driver Bobby Trundley has been recognised at a major national awards ceremony.
22-year-old Bobby is a driver for Team BRIT and was named ‘Young Person of the Year’ at the Anna Kennedy Charity ‘Autism Heroes Awards’ on Saturday 11th June. This follows his earlier recognition from the charity in 2016, where he received the ‘Outstanding Achievement in Sport’ award.
Diagnosed with severe autism at age 4, Bobby was non-verbal for a prolonged period and faced challenges socially and at school. When he was 10, he was invited to a karting birthday party that changed his life and led to him becoming the most successful autistic racing driver in the world.
Bobby’s natural talent for acing made it clear that on the race track, his autism is his superpower. He went on to become a 5 x karting champion before joining all-disabled Team BRIT in 2019.
In his first ever year of car with the team, he won 4 out of his 5 races. Three years on, he is driving a brand new McLaren 570S GT4 in the British GT Championship – one of the most hotly contested GT championships in Europe. This entry, alongside his teammate Aaron Morgan, takes the team just one step away from its goal of making history at Le Mans.
Alongside his racing, Bobby is an ambassador for autism awareness, sharing his story to help and inspire others to believe that anything is possible. Having struggled to find employment since qualifying in motorsports engineering, he has now secured a job as a driver for BT, which he carries out alongside his racing commitments.
Bobby said: “It’s a huge honour to have won the ‘Autism Hero Award’ for ‘Young Person of the Year.’ Everyone nominated deserved to win and after my ‘Outstanding Achievement in Sport Award’ in 2016 I never dreamt I could win again.
“To spend an evening with inspirational people who understand, work and live with autism was empowering and made for a brilliant evening.
“Anna Kennedy OBE and her devoted staff set up the charity ‘Anna Kennedy Online’ to help society and raise autism awareness, acceptance and understanding and are recognised globally for their tireless and ground-breaking work. They are a small charity with the biggest heart and I will always be indebted to them for the advice and support they give to all who need their help.”
Team BRIT Founder Dave Player said: “I’m absolutely delighted that Bobby has received this recognition, which is incredibly deserved.
“When we first met Bobby back in 2019, he was shy and did not believe in himself or his abilities. He has thrived as part of our team and has worked so hard on building on his self-confidence, his presentation skills, his fitness and his racing ability.
“I’m immensely proud of the young man he has become, he is a fantastic ambassador for our team, for anyone with a disability and for anyone living with autism. He is a living example of what can be achieved with the right support, dedication and motivation. His future is incredibly bright.”